10 greatest sports films made in India

During the course of the last few decades, Indian cinema has delivered quite a few passionate sports movies, with several leading heroes essaying athletic roles and finding appreciation come their way for their performances.

The latest to join the bandwagon is ‘Azhar’, based on the life and times of former India skipper Mohammad Azharuddin, that will release on Friday.

Here’s a look at 10 other sports films that will be in the minds of the fans.

Lagaan (2001)

Based on a story in the pre-independence era, Lagaan is a story of triumph-against-odds, when a group of villagers is required to play a cricket match against the Britishers. A victory would mean that the taxes of the whole province would be canceled for three years while a defeat would mean they will need to pay three times the taxes.

In a thrilling finish, Bhuvan, played a terrific Aamir Khan, smashes the ball high up in the air with six needed for a win and captain Russell, catches it and exclaims, only to find moments later that his feet had touched the boundary line on catching, meaning that the impossible had been achieved, sparking wild celebrations among the locals.

The movie was India’s official entry to the Oscars that year and is till date, is regarded as among the greatest movies made by an Indian filmmaker(Ashutosh Govarikar).

Chak De India (2007)

Released in 2007, Chak De India is a story of how the Indian Women’s Hockey team and its coach Kabir Khan fight all odds and despite very little support from its own federation, go on to win the World Cup in Australia.

The movie talks about several issues affecting Indian sport both on and off the pitch and portrays how a group of players, hailing from different parts of the country, unite together to bring glory to the nation, by beating the hosts in the final in a penalty shoot-off.

Shah Rukh Khan delivered a superb performance as the head coach, who returns to take charge of the team after being thrown out of the Men’s side 7 years back on charges of throwing a match against Pakistan and gets his redemption in the end.

The movie attained both critical and commercial success and was one of the biggest blockbusters of that year.

Iqbal (2005)

One of the most inspiring stories in the past decade or more, Iqbal is a story of how a deaf-and-mute boy, totally mad about cricket, is helped by his sister and coach to pursue the game and eventually fulfills his dream of representing the country.

The title role, played very well by debutant Shreyas Talpade shows the journey of a boy, initially not taken seriously by many and how with the help of his sister, played by Shweta Prasad and coach, played by Naseeruddin Shah, goes on to prove everybody wrong at all levels before being picked for the Indian cricket team.

The movie was well-received among the public and Shah and first time director Nagesh Kukunoor took home national awards for Best Supporting Actor and Best Film on Other Social Issues, respectively.

Bhaag Milklha Bhaag (2013)

Based on the real-life story of one of the India’s greatest sportspersons-Milkha Singh- the film depicts the journey of a man, who lost his parents during the partition and then battled his way through to become one of the most eminent sportspersons this country has seen.

The lead role played terrifically by Farhan Akhtar, earned him his maiden Filmfare Best Actor award for the portrayal of the athlete and the film was well-received both critically and commercially.

The athlete charged just one rupee from director Rakesh Omprakash Mehra to make the movie on his life.

Mary Kom (2014)

Yet another biopic made on 2012 Olympics bronze medalist MC Mary Kom, the film talks about her journey of a young girl from the small city of Imphal in faraway Manipur and how he went on to prove every critic wrong to win the World Championships 5 times.

Priyanka Chopra essayed the title role of the boxer with Darshan Kumar essaying the role of her supportive husband and Chopra was appreciated from several quarters for her performance and it was well-received commercially as well.

Striker (2010)

Released in 2010, the film talks about how Surya, played by Siddharth, is introduced to the sport of carrom by his brother and develops an interest to play the sport. He then goes to win the Junior Championships, which serves as the first step towards his dream of going to Dubai.

Soon enough, the folks around him begin to place money on him as he turns into an impressive young player, but things begin to take a turn for the worst and Surya gets himself stuck into underworld activities and following a sequence of events, uses the sport to get his life back on track.

The movie didn’t fare too well at the box office, but it will down in the history books as the first ever Indian film to premiere on YouTube internationally on the same day as its domestic theatrical release.

Paan Singh Tomar (2012)

The story talks about Paan Singh, who impresses everybody with his athletics skills in Indian Army and is selected for training in the 5000m event. But after some persuasion, he picks the 3000m steeplechase as the event where he would compete and it turns out to be an extremely fruitful choice as he goes on to win the National title for seven straight years.

But life takes a completely different turn for the star after he is charged with an illegal acquisition and soon gets mixed with a gang, all of whom are against one person(Bhanwar Singh), who has placed the acquisition against him.

The climax sees Gopi, played by Nawazuddin Siddique, who was part of the gang, betray his fellow gang mates and a shootout result in everyone, including Paan Singh, being killed.

For the title role, Irrfan was awarded the National Award for the Best Actor.

Saala Khadoos (2016)

Initially released in Tamil as Irudhi Suttru, the film traces the journey of, a failed boxer, played by R Madhavan, who falls victim to the politics within the federation. A decade later, he returns as the coach of the Women’s team and is extremely frustrated with the selection policies. He is then falsely accused of sexual harassment following a rift with the federation.

Then one day, he comes across a young fish seller, who sees thrashing the judges, adjudicating in an event where her sister was competing and her fighting skills impress him to the extent that he offers to coach her daily for a few hours.

After not getting along initially, Madhi began to put in the serious yards after finding out the sacrifices made by her coach. But things again take a wrong turn when Madhi’s proposal to her coach is rejected and following a loss to her sister, the coach misinterprets to be an intentional loss, thereby throwing her out of a camp.

After a series of events, that included a resignation from the coach and a few early losses, Madhi raises her game when her coach turns up at the venue and knocks her opponent out to finish on a high.

Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar (1992)

One of the best movies to have emerged out of the Indian film industry in the 90’s, Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar tracks the journey of two school students- Ratan and Shekhar from two opposing schools, vying for top spot in the annual inter-college sports championships with its highlight being a cycle race as its main event.

Throw into this intense mix- Sanjay- played by Aamir Khan, who unlike his more serious brother Ratan is carefree and fun-loving and as a result with a series of lies, also woos the college beauty Devika.

But after a continuous sequence of events, that includes Devika dumping Sanjay after finding out about lowly status, the turning point in the movie arrives when Ratan falls off from a cliff one morning and is admitted to the hospital, in a critical condition.

It is during his recovery period that Sanju learns certain key values and after the doctors declare Ratan unfit to compete in the cycle race, he takes his brother’s spot in the race.

In a thrilling sequence that also sees a fight between Sanjay and Shekhar on top of the hill, the former pips the latter by the closest of margins to take home the top prize.

The movie won the Filmfare Best Movie award for that year.

Patiala House (2011)

Gattu played by Akshay Kumar lives along with his family in London and wishes to represent England some day although his father played by Rishi Kapor is against it. With the help of Simran, played by Anushka Sharma, who helps him achieve his dream albeit keeping it a secret from Gattu’s father.

However, when he does find out, Gattu’s father suffers a heart attack and despite being disgraced by him, Gattu continues to play the sport, hoping to bring about a change in his father.

The folks of Southall also join hands to try and make Gattu’s father understand that what his son was doing wasn’t wrong and eventually watches his son win a game for England off the final ball and then apologizes to his son for his mistakes.

Edited by Staff Editor